22 Nov 2012 07:00
| Date: | 22 November 2012 |
| On behalf of: | Cupid plc ('Cupid', the 'Company' or the 'Group') |
| Embargoed until: | 0700hrs |
Cupid plc
Trading Update
Cupid plc today issues a trading update for the financial year to 31 December 2012 ('2012').
With a little over a month to go until the end of the financial year, the Board of Cupid plc is pleased to announce that the Company has continued to perform strongly with revenue and profits again substantially ahead of last year. The Board is confident that the 2012 financial performance will be in line with consensus market expectations.
The Company's stated strategy of weighting marketing spend towards the first half of the year and generating even greater profits in the second half has been going to plan with second-half profitability tracking considerably higher than the first half. In addition, strong cash generation means that the Board expects to end the year with a robust, bank debt free balance sheet and over £11m of cash.
In the period since 30 June 2012, Cupid has acquired AGL in France and Uniform Dating in the UK. Both acquisitions are trading in line with plan. International growth plans are in place for both these businesses for early 2013.
As mentioned in the update given in September, the Company continues to explore ways to generate new revenue streams from its existing platform and capitalise on its core skill and asset base, in a low-cost and low-risk fashion. As such, Cupid recently launched a beta version of its social discovery product which provides a new access point for consumers into online dating, based on interests. Further details on this will be given in the final results in March.
Looking ahead, the Company anticipates further strong growth in 2013 and will once again follow a strategy of weighting marketing spend towards the first half of the year.
With such rapid growth in revenues, profits and cashflows, Cupid is now delivering a financial performance that is at least one year ahead of where the Company expected to be when it floated in June 2010. An update on longer-term targets for the business will be provided in the full year results for 2012, which the Company will report on 5 March 2013.
Bill Dobbie, CEO of Cupid plc, said:
"We have made very pleasing progress during 2012, having continued our strong international growth both organically and by the addition of two new businesses. Our revenues continue to grow, and with the marketing spend reduced over the last six months as planned, we look forward to reporting profits substantially ahead of last year. We will end 2012 in a very strong position and we look forward to 2013 and beyond with confidence."
For further information please contact:
Cupid plc | Tel: +44 (0)131 526 3600 |
Mark Doughty, CFO | |
Bill Dobbie, CEO | |
Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)207 418 8900 |
Richard Kauffer Daniel Harris | |
Numis Securities Ltd (Joint Broker) | Tel +44 (0)207 260 1000 |
Alex Ham | |
Nick Westlake | |
Redleaf Polhill | Tel: +44 (0)207 566 6720 |
Henry Columbine David Ison | cupid@redleafpolhill.com |
Notes to Editors
§ Cupid plc listed on AIM in June 2010 and is a leading provider of online dating services
§ Cupid has built significant and growing revenues in 15 countries.
§ Cupid offers a wide variety of online dating services allowing members to interact with each other and access the content available on the Group's websites. These websites are intended to appeal to dating users of diverse ages, cultures and social interest groups. The Group's most heavily visited websites include www.cupid.com, www.flirt.com, www.benaughty.com and www.girlsdateforfree.com. The Group also promotes the niche brands www.datingforparents.com, www.indiandating.com, www.loveagain.com and www.uniformdating.com.
§ Cupid plc products are available across the web and also via mobile application stores.
§ Further information on the Company can be found at www.cupidplc.com.